MCH2

Thanks Chris.

Thank you for the reply GB.

I was lucky enough to find a couple large cents awhile back and was hoping someone knowledgeable with copper coins / large cents could shed some light on dating one of them. The 1845 large cent (good condition) measures appx. 27mm while the other large cent (which is in extremely poor condition) measures appx. 28mm. The larger coin also has the word "CENT" underlined on the reverse whereas the 1845 does not (see photos).

I have The Official Red Book of United States Coins, 63rd edition (2010) and I believe the larger cent is older. Anyone have an opinion on appx. date of larger cent?

　Thanks in advance,  Malcolm

Thanks BeachHunter.  I wasn't expecting to find a large cent.  All else for the day was clad.  It was actually just a clad hunt.  You just never know.  You got to be out there to find it.  Next bucket lister I hope...  a standing liberty quarter in good shape.

Here it is, banged up a little, but still pretty nice for possibly being in the ground for 173 years.  I waxed it to help preserve it from oxidizing. The waxing is the whitish color you see. I think it gives it more definition also.

Yep, a 1845 large cent. Here is a link to what they look like - https://www.google.com/search?q=1845+large+cent&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj_x97Fqq7cAhUT8LwKHe3FDzUQ_AUIDCgD&biw=1024&bih=712#imgrc=6bRtEZ9ZLRY36M

I'll post mine when finished with preservation.  I actually found another two days after my initial post, but that coin is in a poor state and the date unreadable.

I found one of my bucket listers this morning during a 3 hour hunt.  What is it? :)

I will take her down to the laboratory for some electrolysis and post  pic later.

17 hours ago, Chase Goldman said:

Did you try posting this in the general coins and relics forum?  This seems to have less  (nothing?) to do with a specific detector (in this case the Equinox) than coin recovery efficiency, so you might want to get ideas from more than just the Equinox detectorists that reside here.  In other words, don't limit yourself to one group of detetor users.

Unfortunately, other than the suggestion above, I am of no real help on this topic because this is about 180 degrees opposite from how I approach this hobby.  This sounds like a work efficiency study (e.g., maximizing production while minimizing time) which is exactly what I am trying to get away from when I go detecting.  To me it is all about relaxing and not turning it into a lean event, six sigma exercise which just introduces stress AFAIC.  More power to you and hope you get some more great tips on how to do what you want to do since quantity of finds is what motivates you.  And there is something to be said for that.  That is one of the things that is so great about this hobby is that there are so many ways you can approach it, so many different environmnets in which you can practice it, so many different objectives you can achieve, and so many different discoveries you can make.  HH.

HH  Right now I am into picking all the low hanging fruit as fast as I can and I get satisfaction from an efficient high coin count. The city has taken out all the parking meters and gone to kiosks for parking.  So now is the time to strike.  I figure it will take me a month to clean up this city. :)  I have plans to switch it up with old home yards where I will go slow,  methodical,  and hopefully find old silver which I also find pleasing in a more immediate way.  I am fortunate here in Upstate NY to have plenty of houses from the early to mid 1800s.   Your advice on changing forums to the "General Coin and Relic is noted.  I'll ask Steve to switch it over.  Thanks to all for replys and ideas and hopefully I'll get some more input from a broader forum. 

12 hours ago, flakmagnet said:

I like your look at efficiency. This is a hobby that can produce a lot of wasted motion and effort.

The only things I have done to help streamline the way I hunt is that I attached the holder for my Garrett Pinpointer to the wrist strap of the detector. It's easy to find and easy to get at. The other thing I have done is to put small clear furniture bumper pads on the cover I bought for the Eq. control pad that match where the buttons are. They are raised and so are easy to find without looking and easy to use with gloves on.

Both these ideas are not mine but they work for me.

The only other thing I have learned from painful experience is to carry a spare 9-volt battery for the pinpointer. Having the pointer go dead in the middle of a hunt is a large time waster.

I'm pretty good at carrying spare batteries or changing them out early.  I do need to put something on my buttons so I do not need to look at them constantly.  Somewhere I read a drop of hot glue on them gives you a feel for them.  Especially needed on the pinpoint button.

Thanks

17 hours ago, Tom Slick said:

I don't know what pin pointer you have but I use a Garrett Pro pointer and I've installed a mercury switch. My pro pointer is turned on once with the switch when I put it in my pouch. I keep it pointed up so the fat, heavy end is in the bottom of my pouch. This keeps it from falling out of the pouch and also allows the use of the mercury switch. When I retrieve the pin pointer from my pouch and turn it so its pointing down, the mercury switch is activated turning the pin pointer on. turn it up to put it away, it turns itself off.  This save a lot of wear and tear on the switch and also makes the battery last just about forever. The switches are available from Radio Shack or any other electronics supply. They only cost about a dollar or less and you only need some black electrical tape and some needle nose pliers  to bend the switch wires. Years ago there were diagrams on the forums on how to do the switch install. A little searching should show diagrams or pictures on how to do it.  Otherwise, I hunt just about like you when I'm clad stabbin' with a DFX and BigFoot coil.  

Thanks for the input on the mercury switch Tom.  I'll have to look into that. I have the Fisher F-Pulse and it does have a delay when turning on - which was discussed in another thread here.

Streamlining

At the moment I am a quantity clad hunter. Just looking for more efficient ways of operating. Currently I am using the Equinox 600 with wireless low latency headphones.  I use park mode 1 with 50 tones and leave open VDI numbers 13, and 24 to 38.   My method: I mostly bend at the waist with a little knee flex to dig (no kneeling); most coins are less than 5" deep. I use a Lesche 10" hand trowel and a smaller wider trowel for popping near surface coins. I only bend over once per target. I use a pinpointer after initial coil pinpointing leaving the pinpointer on facing away from the target while digging, dig target, pinpoint again as needed, recover target, turn pinpointer off, fill in hole, pick up tools, then straighten back up, pocket finds, holster tools and give the hole a final step on and start sweeping again. I have gone from using the pinpointer holster to using my back pants pocket as this is faster to draw and replace without having to stop and look to holster. Also started using a quicker holster for my larger trowel and keep my small wider trowel in my other back pocket. I use a small tie on hardware apron with a pocket for finds and a pocket for trash.  My 600 is tethered to my belt with an elastic bungee cord so it hangs and moves with me when I bend and straighten up; it never gets laid on the ground.

Anyone like to share their method of streamlining to increase efficiency and cut down on redundancy.

　Malcolm

Some advanced settings on the 800 do not work in the 600.

Here is a link to Equinox Manual for the 600 / 800.

38 minutes ago, flakmagnet said:

It seems like it's backward.

That's what I think.

Page 48 of Equinox 600 / 800 manual I have highlighted. I am not sure what they are saying here?

Tying to absorb all these settings and still not there yet.

Like others have said, I would like to see author of Video  "Minelab Equinox BROKEN # 6"  from page #2 swing with Park Mode 2 and check the results.

 WikIpedia 

States that "With the entry of the United States into World War II, nickel became a critical war material, and the Mint sought to reduce its use of the metal. On March 27, 1942, Congress authorized a nickel made of 50% copper and 50% silver, but gave the Mint the authority to vary the proportions, or add other metals, in the public interest."

1 hour ago, Happa54 said:

Cool finds. That lead man looks like an umpire...is it?

Happa,

He does appear to be wearing some type of mask and holding one arm back. Maybe an umpire.

Found these with the 600 recently.

Lead Man

buried 4" deep

Lead ingot (4.15 oz) - wish it was silver

Thanks for the input Dan. The unit does the same in all modes;  no depth and unstable.  I don't know if pairing it with wireless headphones has anything to do with it, but it hasn't worked right since being paired. I'll call Minelab and see what they think.

I did another factory reset and used park-1 with GB and noise cancellation.

All I have used so far in all my hunts is park-1

I went outside for my air test and away from all metal and EMI as I could and propped up a 3' tall cardboard box without any bar codes or magnetic strips of any kind and here are the results:

1. clad Kennedy half @ 4" TID bouncing all over from 11-31, worse @ 5" & nothing at 6"
2. silver quarter @ 4" bouncing from 13-29, worse @ 5" and nothing @ 6"
3. common Jefferson nickel @ 4"  a steady 14 on TID @ 5" becoming unstable
4.  mercury dime @ 4" bouncing from 14-25, @ 5" next to nothing
5.  copper memorial penny @ 4" steady 25 TID,  @ 5" 15-21 TID, @ 6" nothing
6. circular beaver-tail pull tab @ 4" steady 15-16, @ 5" 14-15, @ 6" next to nothing

A few days ago, when things were working well, I dug a clad quarter @ 10".

Thanks for the help.

Malcolm

Update.  Went out in the backyard bored a 5" hole and put in a clad Kennedy half dollar. Did a factory reset on my Equinox 600, all charged up, park-1 mode, no head phones, volume up, connections double checked, soil mild, ground balance,  noise cancellation.  No signal on a 5" deep clad Kennedy half dollar from any direction w/o headphones or with them.  Equinox pinpoint works great.

Seems something has gone wrong.  Any suggestions to check before I send it back?  It may be my chance to upgrade to the 800 from my current 600.

Malcolm

Has anyone tried the Ausdom AH3 Apt-x low latency head phones.  I just got them for my Equinox 600 and they paired right up with low latency.  I then took them to a fairground that I have partially searched.  My coin count was way down while using them.  I will check them in my coin garden tomorrow.  Just wondering if anyone else has tried them and their opinion.

Malcolm

Thanks for all the great insights.  I want my searches to be enjoyable and just need more user hours and better technique.  I'll be out there today and try to implement the suggestions posted here.  Thanks to all.

Malcolm

Hello everybody my name is Malcolm and this is my first post.  I am a new Equinox 600 owner and have a couple newby questions about my Nox.  My first questions is the pinpoint mode.  I am having problems getting it to pinpoint to within 6 inches of where I think the target should be.  I swing one way to mark and  then swing 90 degrees to cross reference the target.  I then have a what I think is a good starting point to use the pinpoint mode.  My problem is that my holes turn out to be wide enough to actually put the coil head down into and still am not finding the target in most cases.  Some of these holes are near 2 feet deep.  A lot of these signals are fairly strong and in the 18 to 25 TID range using park 1 mode.  I am ordering a hand held pinpointer as soon as possible, I am spending up to a half hour trying to locate the target if I find it at all.  Sometimes I can't locate the target and in frustration give up on it and fill the ugly voids back in.  I am sure the hand-held pinpointer will help tremendously but it seems that pinpoint mode is just getting me in the ballpark area of the target?  I use to have another detector so I am not a neophyte, but am having problems with targeting.  I am sure it's me but could use some "pointers." 

The other question I have is about Auto Tracking Ground Balance.  On page 41 of the Equinox manual it mentions that "Tracking Ground Balance is the default and recommended method for Gold Mode and can also be useful when using Beach mode 2 underwater at the beach in salt water."  Is there any reason not to use this in other modes like park 1?

Happy to be here, and hope to contribute in the future.

Thanks for any and all replies..

Malcolm